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mammal.)

N. GQ-LARSEN. Gra me Apparatus.

atented Dec. 28, 1-880.

ATTORNEYS:

U ITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

NIELS c. LARSEN,.OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

GAM E APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 236,047, dated December 28, 1880.

Application filed October 9, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NIELs O. LARSEN, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Game Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a new and improved game which is simple and amusing, can be played by any desired number of persons, and does not require any special skill to understand its operation.

The invention consists of a spirally-grooved cone contained within a figure with an aperture in its upper part, which figure rests upon a flat conical base having a spiral groove provided with a series of numbered recesses in its upper surface, so that a small ball that is passed into the aperture of the figure will run through the spiral grooves of the cone and along the spiral grooves of the base, and will finally stop in one of the numbered recesses a greater or less distance from the end of the spiral, according to the impetus it has obtained.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a cross-sectional elevation of my improved frame. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional elevation of the same directly over the base.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

A cone-frustum, A, is provided with one or more grooves, B B, which run spirally from. the top to the bottom and terminate in a spiral groove, 0 O, in the upper surface of a fiat conical base, 1), upon the center of which the frustum A rests. The spiral groove 0 of the base D is provided with a series of numbered recesses, E E, of a diameter equal to or slightly smaller than that of the spiral grooves B B of the frustum A. The frustum A is surrounded by a figure, F, which in this case represents a sailor sitting on a post and drinking out of a mug 5 but any desired figure may be used, provided the frustum A can be contained within it. A duct or chute, Gr, leads from the open mouth of the figure to the top of the frustum, or this chute may lead from any other part of the figure above the top of the frustum to thelatter. For instance, a baseball player may be represented, and the chute (No model.)

may lead through one or both arms. The base D is surrounded by an inclosure, H, which projects above the edge of the base about from onehalf to one inch.

The game is played as follows: The player drops a small ball, K, of less diameter than the grooves B, into the aperture L of the figure, and the ball drops or rolls down the chute G upon the top of the frustum. From there it will roll into one of the spiral grooves B, and will gradually gain in speed as the diameter of the spiral of the groove increases, and will finallypass out of the groove Binto the groove 0 of the base D, as indicated by the arrows (1. According to the impetus the ball K has obtained it will pass over more or less of the numbered recesses E, and will finally stop in one of them, when the resistance offered by this flat recess is sufficient to overcome the impetus of the ball, which gradually decreases as the ball nears the end of the spiral groove C. The number of the recess in which the ball has stopped is noted, and the next player drops the ball into the aperture of the figure, and the number of the recess in which it"stops is again noted, and in this manner any numher of persons can play, the winner being either the person whose ball stopped in the recess with the highest or lowest number, as maybe agreed upon.

There may be any desired number of recesses E in the groove 0, and there may be one or more spiral grooves B in the frustum A, two being shown in this case.

Having thus described myinvention,1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patnt A game apparatus made substantially as herein shown and described, and consisting of a spirally-grooved cone-frustum contained within a figure with an aperture on top and resting upon a flat. conical base with a spiral groove having a series of numbered recesses in its upper surface, as and for the purpose set forth.

' NIELS G. LARSEN.

Witnesses:

OSCAR F. GUNZ, O. SEDGWIOK. 

